Campaign of Advertisement
by Virodeil
Summary: Who is he, in truth? We know only the outside, the surface, the tales, warped by retelling and point of view and other biases. But we do know that nobody is truly evil or truly good in this world . . . do we not? So have a peek inside and see who he is, and who he might have been, all canon truths picked out from the haystack of words that is The Inheritance Cycle!


Rey taps her Braille-writing tools against each other. She is supposed to write a report for the duty trip she took a fortnight ago, a few exam sheets in advance, and a short story that she has promised to give one of her students tomorrow; but she has ideas for neither! Instead, she got ideas about Morzan, one of her most favourite characters in _The Inheritance Cycle_. So, against all odds and perhaps common sense too, she begins to tock away, butchering the paper with her Braille-writing tools, and write random things about one of the most infamous men in the history of _The Inheritance Cycle_, in hope that she can promote for a better light for the man.

_About Morzan, these titbits interests me quite much:_

1. A. "He {Morzan} was one of the king's first followers and by far his most loyal." Brom  
B. {" . . . and remained the king's favorite servant for the rest of his life."}  
_How could he be so? Honeyed words alone could not win him. Just look at Murtagh. So was there a hidden, far deeper relation between the two that Brom either did not know or just did not wish to expose for the whole world to find out – and thus Eragon would not know?_

2. A. "But then he {Morzan} betrayed us to Galbatorix . . . and in the fighting at Dorú Areaba—Vroengard's city—my young dragon was killed." Brom  
B. "You cannot begin to fathom the effect Morzan's betrayal had on Brom until you understand the depth of Brom's affection for him. And when Galbatorix at last revealed himself and the Forsworn killed Brom's dragon, Brom focused all of his anger and pain on the one who he felt was responsible for the destruction of his world: Morzan." Oromis  
C. " . . . and the Forsworn killed Saphira . . . " Oromis  
_There is no mention that MORZAN killed Saphira I PERSONALLY, you know … Brom was just stricken, and then he blamed it all on Morzan, who he had idolised; perhaps he even thought that Morzan would save him somehow, given how loyal he had been to the older boy so far. So it was more a betrayal of trust that Morzan might or might not be aware of than the physical thing._

3. A. " . . . and killed Morzan in a duel?" Murtagh  
B. {"A troubled expression settled on Murtagh's face."}  
_Hmm. Why so troubled, dear boy? Are you troubled that you could have met him when he was healthy and recognised you, and your father's fate might be yours then? Or are you troubled that you have helped take care of the person who MURDERED your FATHER? Interesting …_

4. "Morzan threw his sword at me as I ran by. My back was laid open by the very sword you now carry—the only thing I expected to receive as inheritance, until Brom stole it from my father's corpse." Murtagh  
_Why such a morbid choice of expectation for inheritance, dear boy? Do you think, because it laid your back open and left you a scar as inheritance on your back, then you are entitled to the sword that did it? Or do you think that, because Brom STOLE it from your father's body, then you have the right to take it back, because your father died while bearing that sword – such a personal memento? But then again, why do you still refer to HIM as "my father"? You know, if you TRULY hate him, you would not EVER refer to him thus …_

5. {"Then your father," he {Eragon} said in a faltering voice, "was killed by . . ."; {"Yes, Brom," said Murtagh. He pulled his tunic back on with a detached air.}  
_Aha. Why so detached now, dear boy? What is it that is cherning in your head, I wonder? You were so passionate before; but when it comes to your father's death, you are suddenly so … distant. Hmm._

6. "And you still say that you are Morzan's son?" Eragon; {"Yes," he {Murtagh} sighed.}  
_Ha. What now, dear boy? That "Yes" word could mean so many things. Even on the face of possible demise or imprisonment by the Varden, you do not deny or try to justify yourself against your being Morzan's son. You said you hate him, but you just accept being his son so simply? True, there is nothing you can do about being his son; but you were so passionate about it before, rather elaborate. And you could have the choice of not outrightly agreeing that you are Morzan's son to anybody too. I commend your loyalty though._

7. "He did his best to protect her from the rest of the Thirteen—not out of any feelings for her, but because they would have used her against him, given the chance. . . ." Murtagh  
_Really, dear boy? From whom did you hear about such, I wonder? And how could the other Forsworn use her against him if he had no feelings whatsoever for her? If he had no feelings for her, then she would be completely in the dark about him, yes? And despite her purported deep love for him, she would know nothing about him – valuable information to be used by the other Forsworn, yes? You can believe such a contradictory tale sometimes, you know …_

8. "For three years things proceeded in this manner, until my mother became pregnant." Murtagh  
_Ha! PREGNANT! Did he rape her, perhaps? But are you sure of it … ? But if not, then he did really love her, since you would not share your body in such an intimate level with somebody else without any shred of fondness for them, if the reason of sheer lust is out of the question. But then again, if she was pregnant because of his lusting upon her body, why did it have to wait for THREE YEARS?_

9. "My father was, if nothing else, a cunning man. He knew that the pregnancy put both him and my mother in danger, not to mention the baby—that is, me." Murtagh  
_But you said he had no feelings for your mother – let alone you, dear boy. So why now you think Morzan and Selena were in danger because she was pregnant with you, eh? Danger for her, perhaps, but for him … ? Except for the assumption that he DID harbour certain feelings towards your mother and you – his SON – in spite of everything, that is … So which, dear boy?_

10. A. "So, in the dead of night, he spirited her away from the palace and took her to his castle. Once there, he laid down powerful spells that prevented anyone from entering his estate except for a few chosen servants. In this way the pregnancy was kept secret from everyone but Galbatorix." Murtagh  
B. "Knowing the history of those power-hungry, backstabbing knaves, he probably saved Murtagh's life." Jeod  
_Whoa … such a thorough and zealous protection … Are you really sure that he did not love you – the both of you – after all, dear boy? Because only a desperate (well, and powerful) family man would do that, as far as I know and understand. Even Jeod agrees! (Ha, then these are the "powerful enchantments" Brom found enclosing the said castle? Ironic, quite ironic.) And where did you hear about such a detailed recounting, dear boy? Did Galbatorix tell you? But I doubt it, from your earlier stories about your interaction with him. So who told you, then?_

11. "But for some reason he never revealed my existence." Murtagh  
_Hmm. What is it between your father and the King, dear boy? Morzan got a special treatment then, if you say is true; but why? Or perhaps, Galbatorix really did not know, and found out only later, but he told you that he had known about you since long before? Because even a powerful man is not an omniscient man; and there are ways to lie even in the language in which it is nearly impossible to lie._

12. "It came from another man, one more beast than human." Ajihad  
_But what is the definition of "beast" that you are using, dear sir? Because not all senses of that are altogether evil or bad. I am sure nobody would like to be compared to an animal; but there are several people that do use their 'animalistic' senses more than their humanoid ones, for various reasons. (Nuh-uh, I am not joking.)_

13. "The only thing he succeeded at was killing Morzan, and a better deed he couldn't have done." Angela  
_Better for whom? And why? Because, after all, there are fates worse than death. Brom could be releasing Morzan from a terrible bond. Would it not be good, do you think?_

14. "When he laughed, it sounded as if he were in pain." Jeod  
_I wonder why. This is what struck me the most about you, Morzan. What made you laugh that way, dear sir?_

Author's Notes: Form your own opinions, share them with me, flame me … whatever. I would just love to express myself on my birthday, and hopefully hear things from the avid or not-so-avid readers of _The Inheritance Cycle_ about one of one of the most infamous persons in the series. And till then, bye-bye!


End file.
